FEATURE
By Tim Hartin
Anticipation can be hard to measure. But if anything paints a clear picture of how much Met Area competitors are looking forward to the season, it has to be the opening of championship registration. Just over a week in, it’s pretty evident that the competitive lineup once again features plenty of can’t-miss opportunities in 2026.
The 99th MGA Senior Amateur – the first individual title to get handed out this season – grew a lengthy waitlist during the opening day of registration on March 2. As an early season event, the Senior Amateur is always a hard entry to secure, and the interest only grew as the championship heads to Meadow Brook Club in Jericho, N.Y., for the first time, May 27-28. As one of the MGA’s founding members, the club has been a longtime supporter of championship golf and now has its quickest turnaround as host after producing a memorable Met Open last August.
Long Island’s passion for golf often shows up through speedy registrations, whether it’s championships or in the MGA’s Play Days Presented by Callaway. The 78th MGA Public Links Championship will take place at Harbor Links Golf Club in Port Washington, N.Y., on June 18, and the qualifier on Bethpage State Park’s Green Course is nearly a sellout after a week.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Met Amateur Championship continues to build momentum. In 2025, the championship was extended to a 54-hole event, mirroring the format of the Ike with 18 holes on Day 1 and the final 36 on Day 2. Last year featured the largest, deepest field in the tournament’s history, and this year has already had a strong reaction from competitors as the tournament goes to Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle, N.Y., June 22-23, for the first time. Wykagyl is no stranger to hosting the game’s best women, with the LPGA’s former Big Apple Classic crowning winners like Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, and Paula Creamer.
It’s no secret that Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., draws plenty of eyes and interest, with its outstanding layout perched above the Hudson River. As it prepares to welcome the Ike for the first time and the MGA for the first time since the 2011 Met Open, competitors have quickly answered the call. Five of the six qualifiers already have over 100 entries and sit dangerously close to sellout status a week after registration’s opening.
Continuing with MGA Majors, the 124th Met Amateur Championship has already had two qualifiers sell out, as players look to earn a coveted spot at Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, N.Y. The Dick Wilson layout has produced outstanding champions in its three previous times hosting the MGA’s oldest championship, with George F. Burns (1972), George Zahringer III (1972), and Greg Rohlf (1999) taking the titles.
For most players fortunate enough to qualify, it will be their first championship experience at Deepdale, whose roots date back to 1926. The club, founded by William K. Vanderbilt II, originally built a course designed by C.B. Macdonald, but was forced to relocate to its current location when the Long Island Expressway cut through it in 1954. Wilson’s layout is carved among rolling, wooded terrain that features an assortment of dogleg par 4s and challenging, back-to-front sloping greens. This year’s Met Amateur champion will certainly have to display accuracy and have a deft touch around and on the famously fast greens at Deepdale.
The season’s final MGA Major, the Met Open Championship Presented by Callaway, tends to take longer to fill up, but one qualifier on Long Island at Rockaway Hunting Club has already sold out – no surprise there. This year’s championship has players’ sights on advancing to another MGA founding member, with Essex County Country Club in West Orange, N.J., hosting the championship August 18-20. This will be Essex County’s first time hosting the region’s premier open championship.
While the MGA has been at the club as recently as 2023 with the Women’s Met Amateur and 2020 for the Lexus MGA Senior Open, it hasn’t staged a full-field men’s major at Essex County since 2016, when Cameron Young outdueled Peter Kim in a thrilling playoff to win his second straight Ike title. The club recently underwent a restoration under the direction of Gil Hanse, who only strengthened what was already known as one of the Garden State’s top layouts and one of the game’s best closing nines.
Several of the MGA’s much-loved team championships have good jumps on filling fields, including the adored Father and Son Championship, which takes place at Engineers Country Club in Roslyn, N.Y., on August 3. The 33rd Senior Net Four-Ball Tournament will kick off the 2026 season, taking place May 4 at Salem Golf Club, while the 62nd MGA/WMGA Mixed Pinehurst returns to Knollwood Country Club in Elmsford, N.Y., July 27. Details for the MGA/MetLife Doubles Championship, which debuted in 2025 with the fun two-person scramble format, will be announced soon.
Juniors can look forward to the 109th Met Junior Championship Sponsored by MetLife, which heads to North Jersey Country Club in Wayne, N.J., and the 58th MGA/MetLife Boys’ Championship as it returns to Gardiner’s Bay Country Club for what’s always a memorable tournament experience on Shelter Island.
As the season rolls on, players will hope their top finishes produce an opportunity to register to compete in coveted invitationals. Juniors will eye Carter Cup invites for 36 holes at Baltusrol Golf Club (August 4); seniors, and both men’s and women’s mid-amateurs will seek invites to The Farrell at The Stanwich Club (October 2-4); and those 25 and older will aim to earn a spot in the 20th MGA Mid-Amateur Championship at Hudson National (October 6-7).
After several significant snowstorms early in 2026, March has already delivered weather that signals golf season is near. With the schedule out and open for registration, now is the time to lock in your competitive lineup for the season.
For full details on championships and registration info, visit mgagolf.org.
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